A number of American politicians argue that a military conflict between the United States and China is inevitable in the future, a political commentator in Washington says.

“It’s very definitely an element inside the US that is arguing that a war with China at some future point is almost inevitable, because China is a rising power, becoming a formidable military power in the region, and the US is static and some people feel even declining,” said Jeff Steinberg, a senior editor for the Executive Intelligence Review.

He also added that despite China’s efforts to “build economic cooperation” in the South China Sea and de-escalate tensions in the region, the US military doctrine is seeking the “encirclement and containment” of China.

There are “many people in China who believe that the whole underlying concept behind President Obama’s Asia pivot is an encirclement and containment of China for an eventual conflict,” he said.

“They may view the US doctrine of Air-Sea Battle as a provocation and I think there’s very strong merit for thinking that that’s an accurate viewpoint,” Steinberg told Press TV on Monday.

There are “elements of the Air-Sea Battle policy that could involve preemptive strikes against Chinese territory which not only would be a provocation for war, but would in some cases reduce the gap between conventional and nuclear conflicts,” he argued.

According to a new report by Stars and Stripes, the recent war games over the western Pacific Ocean by the US military were focused on fighting an enemy like China in case it blocks US access to international waters and airspace.

The exercise with 18,000 US forces tested the Air-Sea Battle doctrine, which is a set of tactics that blinds an enemy’s communications in space and cyberspace and destroys land- and sea-based weapons platforms, the report said.

The report explained the Pentagon’s Air-Sea Battle concept during last week’s Valiant Shield exercise. The US Navy and Air Force are currently working on the doctrine, which forms a key component of the US military strategy.